<p>*Interests: I really like to write and I enjoy english. I would love to major in creative writing. For some reason I am also interested in genetic research and chemistry...pretty random.</p>
<p>*GPA: I really messed up frosh year and avg. a 3.3, but soph year I avg. a 3.8, and I am avg. a 4.0 junior so far.
Frosh- no honors
Soph- 1 honors
Junior- 3 honors</p>
<p>*SAT: I average a 1200/1800 on the old/new SAT. Math being in low 500's, critical reading being in low 600's, and writing being in low 700's. </p>
<p>*Enviroment: I really REALLY really need the school to have a nice camus. I like the older looking colleges with sprawling lawns. It would be great if it was located in a suburban town, or just outside an urban city. 3,000-9,000 would be a great size, but I am flexible. </p>
<p>*Location: I am really looking at colleges in Washington, but that is the only state on the west that I would like to live in. I am also interested in schools on the east. </p>
<p>*Politics: I am pretty conservative ( I don't party very often) but I am not religious at all. I wouldn't mind going to a religious school, but I don't want to have religion shoved down my throat at all. I am more liberal, but not very politically active. </p>
<p>Please list some realistic safety/match/reach schools. I don't want to bother applying to SUPER reaches. Any ideas would be greatly appreicated.</p>
<p>Whitworth in Spokane might be one good option. And if you go to collegeboard.com and search starting with Whitworth you can find similar schools and make comparisons. Also try Carolyn's site. admissionsadvice.com, for some good coaching. Good luck...</p>
<p>I had the impression Gonzaga was rather conservative
Although our local Catholic high school had a performance of " the Laramie Project", Gonzagas president has banned speakers from Planned parenthood, and an oncampus performance of the Vagina Monologues, however they do allow speaker whose positions advocate that "homosexuality" is a choice and " the result of a bad relationship with ones same sex parent"
Do you have some basis for limiting yourself to Washington schools?
I would look at Willamette in Oregons capitol.<a href="http://www.willamette.edu/map/%5B/url%5D">http://www.willamette.edu/map/</a></p>
<p>Thanks a lot. I have really looked into Gonzaga but I am scared that it might be too religious. I am conservative in a "not a big drinker" type of way, not a "all gays will go to hell" way. Is Whitworth religious too? Willamette looks pretty good. Are all of these colleges in my range though?</p>
<p>And how do I know if a school is a safety, match, or reach? How much higher should my SAT/GPA be then the avg. for the school to be a safety?</p>
<p>My kid got into Willamette with a 1260 or so and a B average - and they threw in over $5000/year in merit aid. Everything I read about it sounded good - but clearly it's not too hard to get into.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Will colleges see my entire report card, just the semester grades, or just the year grades?
[/quote]
Colleges will see your transcript, which most often reports only the final grade for each subject in each year. I suggest requesting a copy of your transcript and checking it for errors.</p>
<p>Transcripts also sometimes report standardized test scores (SAT/SAT II/ACT), though colleges don't consider these an official score report. </p>
<p>If you live in a state with mandated tests (for instance, the Regents exams in NY), these test results will often also be on the transcript.</p>
<p>Have a look at:
(in descending order of degree of difficulty in admissions)</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon
Univ Of Michigan
Kenyon
Denison
Emerson
Beloit
Hollins (if you are female)
Univ of Iowa
Lousiana State
George Mason
University of Houston
San Francisco State</p>
<p>
[quote]
Enviroment: I really REALLY really need the school to have a nice campus. I like the older looking colleges with sprawling lawns. It would be great if it was located in a suburban town, or just outside an urban city. 3,000-9,000 would be a great size, but I am flexible.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You might take a look at Drew University, in Madison New Jersey. A little smaller than your target size (total enrollment = 2600), but a nice campus in a small town within easy commuting distance of New York City.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks a lot. I really like Drew University. It is hard to find average colleges on the east coast, but that one seems really good. I have looked at Kenyon a lot too,but I think that it might be too much of a reach for me.</p>
<p>blythe: I know exactly what you are saying, but don't ever let these colleges hear you refer to them or their students as "average." They all like to think they are very special places for very special people. And besides, maybe you are just being modest but you are well above average.</p>
<p>I think that Drew is a good match school for me, but Kenyon is definitely a reach. Their avg. SAT score is in the 1300s. And I just want to find a school with avg. stats not avg. people. That's what I love about good safety schools. I've never been to the east coast and the only colleges I seem to hear of are the top tier schools. </p>
<p>I looked at Denison a little bit, but now that you mention it, that school looks really good. They have a lot of the majors I am looking into and it seems like a good match.</p>
<p>And are there any schools where I might qualify for the honors program. I am looking into Western Washington University and if I could bring my grades up a little, I might qualify.</p>
<p>bythe- another twist you may want to consider is science writing/communication/journalism.</p>
<p>Here are some schools with undergraduate programs in this area
Indiana University
Iowa State
Purdue
U of Minn/Twin Cities
U of Missouri/Columbia</p>
<p>blythe, I think you are selling yourself short. I really don't think schools will be that turned off by a 3.3 freshman year. At your current pace you could easily graduate with a 3.7 or slightly above.</p>
<p>In addition, since you want to go into creative writing, your verbal and writing scores will matter more, and they are a respectable low 600's and low 700's.</p>
<p>If you can write killer essays (your strength) I see no reason why some of the more selective schools mentioned in this thread wouldn't be a possibility.</p>